Nursing students' views on mentors in clinical practice

Abstract

Background: Research addressing Maltese pre-registration nurses' views on their mentors was not previously available. The researcher, therefore, chose to investigate such an issue and contribute to this research gap. Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore students' views on their mentors in clinical practice. The objectives were to explore students' views in relation to the mentors' ability to bridge the theory-practice gap, investigate the influence of mentors on students' learning experience and explore the quality of the learning experience provided by mentors. Research design and setting: An exploratory descriptive survey design was used. The study was set in a University in Malta. Participants: The study included a purposive sample of 107 Diploma and 40 Degree, second-year nursing students. Most participants were female (68.6%) and were twenty-three years of age or younger at the time of data collection ( n=53 ). Method: A self-developed questionnaire including a Likert Scale and open-ended questions was distributed to participants in class. Data were summarised in the form of response frequencies and through the use of thematic content analysis. Results: Students reported that while mentors endeavour to restrict the theory-practice gap, they face obstacles in doing so. The student-mentor relationship was vital to enhance learning and determined their assessment and integration with the rest of the nursing team. The majority of participants had positive student-mentor relationships. Conclusions: Mentorship was viewed as a positive enterprise by students. However, a deeper exploration of the reasons why mentors encounter setbacks to bridge theory with practice is needed. Further research on this topic is recommended in view of the limitations of this study.